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Bremer dan Gorst becomes king of the Union in book 7. Book 8 is about a time-portal to the Potterverse and features a steamy romance between Hermione and the Dogman. Book 9 is a Star Trek Crossover.
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Oct 24, 2014 08:10
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| # ? May 11, 2024 12:57 |
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Picard = Bayaz Q = Khalul 
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Oct 24, 2014 16:43
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FMguru posted:I can see how a semi-literate person would make that mistake, sorry. I can see both of you are wrong for making the mistake of supporting an otherwise excellent author's misguided foray into Young Adult Fiction, sorry.
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Oct 24, 2014 18:01
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I just finished Best Served Cold (after reading First Law and generally enjoying it). I thought the first ~ 5 parts were absolutely fantastic, part 6 lost a little steam, then the ending was just kind of anti-climacting. Not sure what I was expecting instead. Is this the general consensus on this book or did I miss something interesting about the ending? About 100 pages into The Heroes now and having a hard time getting into it.
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Oct 26, 2014 02:28
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Ross posted:I just finished Best Served Cold (after reading First Law and generally enjoying it). I thought the first ~ 5 parts were absolutely fantastic, part 6 lost a little steam, then the ending was just kind of anti-climacting. Not sure what I was expecting instead. I don't really know, it ended with an action set piece, plot twists, and resolution for the characters and the themes of the story. I don't really know what was missing for you.
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Oct 26, 2014 11:17
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BravestOfTheLamps posted:I don't really know, it ended with an action set piece, plot twists, and resolution for the characters and the themes of the story. I don't really know what was missing for you. I sort of felt like Part 6 concluded with "Orso is hosed now and we will go get him" and then in Part 7 that was exactly what happened. That same comment I guess could be directed at the book as a whole ("In Part X she's out to get [Next Villain] and this is achieved"). In all seven parts I felt like there was rarely much doubt or suspense that Monza would succeed. Not that this made it bad for me, I very much enjoyed the story and thought it was the best of the four Joe A books I've read so far, but after six mini-stories of that formula with different places and different villains I guess I was just expecting something really unexpected to happen in the end, if that makes sense.
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Oct 26, 2014 16:33
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Ross posted:I sort of felt like Part 6 concluded with "Orso is hosed now and we will go get him" and then in Part 7 that was exactly what happened. It does.
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Oct 26, 2014 16:53
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It is a fairly straightforward revenge story, but arguably the strength of the book is in how Monza's character arc develops, not in the specifics of what happens.
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Oct 26, 2014 16:59
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BSC will always be my favorite because of the Cosca and Shivers arcs. The revenge part didn't matter a whole lot to me.
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Oct 26, 2014 18:34
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All the characters and their stories were great, basically.
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Oct 26, 2014 18:40
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I loved every single page of Best Served Cold. It's still my favorite Abercrombie book. I thought every thread got tied up in its rightful conclusion. I'm a sucker for revenge stories though. Hyper-violent revenge stories all the more so. I love Monza and I really hope we see her again in future books. Joe has to have her make another appearance at some point. Before Red Country fans were always asking if we'd see Logen again. I have to think Monza is a requested character too. Especially where her story ended in BSC. Seems rather important.
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Oct 27, 2014 00:59
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Monza is easily my favorite female fantasy character in a long while. I mean, she just gives no fucks and pursues her poo poo with a determination you only see attributed to Great Men of History. Best Served Cold was the best book to read AND listen to; I highly suggest everyone check out the audiobooks voiced by Steven Pacey (or was it Michael Page? Basically don't get the American one).
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Oct 27, 2014 23:16
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Just because there's been so much spoiler chat stuff recently I'm going to spoil this comment on Monza from BSC. If you haven't read it to the end don't read it (also why the gently caress are you reading the current last page of this thread now?!) She discovers she has basically spent her entire life being played by her brother. Considering she's basically willing to sacrifice everything she values for her greatest value (familial ties) finding out that her greatest value was pure poo poo is a pretty soul destroying moment. In terms of character development I think there's a fair bit of space after this fact to see whether her ruthlessness takes over and she becomes utterly sociopathically nihilistic or]whether she takes on a new moral value (possibly guided by Bayaz or one of the big Names)
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Oct 28, 2014 17:26
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MrNemo posted:possibly guided by Bayaz or one of the big Names She does not kneel
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Oct 30, 2014 00:23
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UncleMonkey posted:I love Monza and I really hope we see her again in future books. Joe has to have her make another appearance at some point. Before Red Country fans were always asking if we'd see Logen again. I have to think Monza is a requested character too. Especially where her story ended in BSC. Seems rather important. I have a strong suspicion that Abercrombie has an overall story outlined in his head, and each book is moving characters around to get them where they need to be for the final culmination of the story. I'd be shocked if Monza isn't a key part of the denouement of the story the whole collection tells: her insistence on independence from Bayaz and Khalul makes her the only real potential power in the world to-date that hasn't been painted as an irredeemable evil.
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Oct 31, 2014 00:12
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I just finished reading Best Served Cold. I gotta say I was kinda let down. If anything it was too relentlessly grimdark, and lacked any likeable characters(except Nicomo Cosca). Shivers was basically Logen without any of his redeeming qualities and Monza just didn't gel with me. I think I'll take a break from Abercrombie and read something new. Charles Stross recommended Three Parts Dead by Max Gladstone recently, and it's a nice change of pace. Think China Mieville but without his head up his rear end.
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Oct 31, 2014 00:32
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See that's weird to me because I felt BSC was, with the exception of the narrative making it a point to poo poo on Shivers at every opportunity, probably the least grimdark of Abercrombie's works.
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Oct 31, 2014 00:34
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Eschatos posted:I just finished reading Best Served Cold. I gotta say I was kinda let down. If anything it was too relentlessly grimdark, and lacked any likeable I felt the same way about Best Served Cold but I really enjoyed Red Country. It's nowhere near as grim dark even if it's very much still Abercrombie's fantasy world.It also has quite a lot of Nicoma Costa.
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Nov 1, 2014 08:45
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If you enjoyed Red Country, you might get a kick out of Isaac Babel's Red Cavalry. It's about the Polish-Soviet War in the early postwar period, but it feels pretty similar.
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Nov 2, 2014 10:40
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Best Served Cold, while good, did seem like a little too much of a bummer for me. Every character in it is broken and only trying to inflict their pain on others. Fortunately, The Heroes is next and, while a bummer of a different sort, is one of the best fiction books I've read on the pointlessness of war. Its actually my favorite of Abercrombie's and one that I think gets overlooked.
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Nov 15, 2014 06:53
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I did not like BSC very much because it was too straight forward and I didn't care for any of the characters really. The Heroes is my favourite of the books by a large margin.
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Nov 15, 2014 07:09
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I must be missing the point of Heroes because I'm having a really hard time getting into it. About 200 pages in and I have to force myself to read more than a chapter at a time.
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Nov 16, 2014 05:31
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Haven't heard that before, Ross. Think you could nail down a why?
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Nov 16, 2014 11:17
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Grand Prize Winner posted:Haven't heard that before, Ross. Think you could nail down a why? Nothing specific I can pin down but I am having a hard time of keeping track of all the characters and who's fighting for who etc. I did very much enjoy the previous four books so maybe I'm just not in the mood for it right now.
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Nov 16, 2014 17:20
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I finally started reading The First Law, and this is some pretty awesome stuff! Half way through right now. All the characters are great and well realized, and I especially enjoy reading the Glokta and Logen stuff. Jezal is a dandy noble rear end in a top hat, but I get that's what he's supposed to be so I don't dislike him or anything, he's just not as interesting. Though I'm sure his character will be going in cool directions eventually. I haven't been this hooked to a fantasy novel so quick in a long while. I know the Barbarian-seeing-the-great-city-for-the-first-time thing is way overplayed but god drat if I didn't love the chapters of Logen getting to Adua for the first time. Hilarious stuff. And, I finally get the thread title I've seen around for so long. Say one thing for Logen Ninefingers, say that he has to piss. This Abercrombie dude can write!
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Nov 17, 2014 02:43
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denimgorilla posted:Best Served Cold, while good, did seem like a little too much of a bummer for me. Every character in it is broken and only trying to inflict their pain on others. You got a problem with Friendly and his dice? 
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Nov 17, 2014 04:02
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Damo posted:Jezal is a dandy noble rear end in a top hat, but I get that's what he's supposed to be so I don't dislike him or anything, he's just not as interesting. Though I'm sure his character will be going in cool directions eventually.
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Nov 17, 2014 08:49
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So, uh... apparently some crazy naked dude in Boston chomped down on an elderly man's ear. His name? Shenk. Yeah. All that's missing is the "t" at the end. I'm not saying we should all panic, but maybe it's kinda time to panic.
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Nov 23, 2014 04:25
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We won't have time to panic before it's all over.
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Nov 23, 2014 04:28
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GreyjoyBastard posted:You got a problem with Friendly and his dice? You apologize to his loving dice!
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Nov 23, 2014 13:06
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Friendly is a violent autistic man who should probably be executed for the good of society. Shenkt should likewise be destroyed in some manner. Gorst, who everyone hates, is less of a liability than either.
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Nov 23, 2014 13:11
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How many major characters in these books shouldn't be executed for the good of society? I mean, think about it. Dogman, Gorst, maybe Jezal and Shy. Anyone else not a blight on humanity? Jezal making that list after the influences he was under is pretty entertaining though.
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Nov 23, 2014 17:17
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Glokta and Shivers are better choices than dogman.
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Nov 23, 2014 20:35
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Neurosis posted:Friendly is a violent autistic man who should probably be executed for the good of society. Shenkt should likewise be destroyed in some manner. Gorst, who everyone hates, is less of a liability than either. Friendly is a violent autistic man who has the best line in the loving series. "How do I look?" "Like a pimp that lost his mind in a military tailor's."
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Nov 23, 2014 20:39
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denimgorilla posted:Best Served Cold, while good, did seem like a little too much of a bummer for me. Every character in it is broken and only trying to inflict their pain on others. What's funny is that this is completely true and yet it's actually a lot more optimistic than The First Law and completely turns around the "people can't really change" moral (albeit not for everyone, what with Cosca falling back into alcoholism and being even more of a poo poo person by Red Country).
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Nov 23, 2014 21:46
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Sex Beef 2.0 posted:What's funny is that this is completely true and yet it's actually a lot more optimistic than The First Law and completely turns around the "people can't really change" moral (albeit not for everyone, what with Cosca falling back into alcoholism and being even more of a poo poo person by Red Country). And in the end, Monza conquers Styria (as we learn in Red Country) and presumably brings peace to the land, for the first time in decades. That's a far more optimistic ending than The First Law ever got.
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Nov 23, 2014 22:48
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Ok this has to be my favorite ending to a chapter yet, halfway through book 2. "Threetrees...... is going...... to poo poo."
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Nov 24, 2014 04:22
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Sex Beef 2.0 posted:What's funny is that this is completely true and yet it's actually a lot more optimistic than The First Law and completely turns around the "people can't really change" moral (albeit not for everyone, what with Cosca falling back into alcoholism and being even more of a poo poo person by Red Country). That's a really good point. I hadn't really thought of it like that.
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Nov 24, 2014 08:20
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The best part of BSC to me was how it seemed like it was set up to be Monza's revenge story when it was in fact everybody else's revenge story against everybody else. It ended up being like six or seven overlapping revenge arcs, most of which were great.
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Nov 24, 2014 15:02
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Goddamn where was this guy when I was slogging through boring rear end Salvatore books to get some nerd fantasy? Even Mark Lawrence's Broken Empire trilogy isn't as good as The First Law, and from what I'm gathering, some of the other books are even better. Tardy to party and all that. I've even gotten a friend of mine hooked on this.
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Nov 24, 2014 21:29
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